By John Lee.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has promised to crack down on corruption, and says laws will protect nervous foreign investors.
He told CNBC:
“We are laying down all the legal framework … I think the worry is corruption, number one, which is hiding behind red tape and bureaucracy. We have established a higher committee which is headed by the prime minister and it has a follow up team to make sure to remove blocks as they are there because of the bureaucracy.
“I think this will be a huge bonus for companies; sometimes they are pressed to pay bribes or something like that. We want to keep away from this, we want every dollar which goes into investment or donation to serve the people, not to go to the pockets of corrupt people.“
Appearing confident despite the challenges ahead, he added:
“I think now that the process of engaging investors in Iraq, I am sure in the next few months will be the foundation of this. We’ve already appointed a committee. Next month is going to be a meeting with major investors to follow up … And I hope that after the election they’ll immediately start.”
See the full CNBC interview here. (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/18/munich-security-conference-iraq-prime-minister-hails-encouraging-progress.html)
(Source: CNBC)